India abstains from voting in UN on holding debate regarding China's treatment of Uyghur Muslims

GENEVA: India on Thursday abstained from voting on a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) draft resolution on holding a debate on the human rights situation in China's Xinjiang region.

The draft resolution on “holding a debate on the situation of human rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China” was rejected in the 47-member Council after 17 members voted in favour, 19 members voted against, including China, and 11 abstentions which include India, Brazil, Mexico and Ukraine.

The draft resolution was presented by a core group consisting of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the USA, and co-sponsored by a range of states, including Turkey.

"India has never supported country-specific issues in Human Rights Council," sources said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan voted against the resolution, which exposed the country's double standards.